Bare
by Cleone
Summary: After going through a tough divorce, Sasuke reluctantly visits the strip club, where through a maze of cigarette smoke, dim lights, and bare skin, he finds the woman he's truly meant to be with. SasuHina


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Bare

Sasuke stared at the steam rising like silvery ribbons from his Styrofoam cup of cheap, pure black coffee. The rain poured outside the empty café he was sitting in; ever since that fateful night, he hated rain. Upon hearing this, most people would gape at him and shake their heads, stating that cold water falling from the sky was so "romantic". But he thought otherwise, all because of _her_…

Sasuke reluctantly looked out the window he was sitting next to. She was late. But she always was.

He sighed heavily and returned his gaze to his coffee. He hadn't been looking forward to seeing her again, even though it had only been a week since she had presented him with the divorce papers. He was still trying his best to get over his now ex-wife, and the last thing he needed was to see her so soon.

The bell above the door to the café tinkled, and Sasuke looked up, trying his best to smile. A woman with blonde hair that had probably been so meticulously curled and styled that morning but that now hung down her back in soaked strands stepped into the building, blinking her vibrant, clear blue eyes several times and looking around before she spotted Sasuke. She returned his strained smile and walked to his table, taking a seat across from him.

"Sorry I'm late," Ino said between heavy breaths as she settled into the hard, wooden seat and set her black designer purse (that Sasuke had paid for) on the table.

"You're always late," Sasuke said, leaning back and grinning. "You told me to be here at three, but I knew you wouldn't show up till at least forty-five minutes later."

Ino laughed quietly and slipped off her trench coat, revealing her bulging stomach. Sasuke stopped smiling immediately, his heart sinking ever so slightly. The woman across from him followed his gaze and looked down at her feet, her face turning slightly pale.

"I had a sonogram a couple of days ago. Looks like it will be healthy."

"Great," Sasuke said rather hoarsely. "That's just…great."

Ino looked up at him again. "This is the right thing to do, Sasuke, and you know it."

Sasuke shook his head several times and looked back out the window. "I guess… I'm sorry I couldn't be a better husband."

A hurt look crossed the blonde's face and she gently reached for his hand. "It wasn't you, okay? It was-"

"Don't," Sasuke interrupted. "Just… don't give me that bullshit, Ino."

Ino retracted her hand and stared at him almost longingly. "Sasuke…I care about you, alright? Can't you tell?"

Her ex-husband was silent for a moment before answering. "Not really."

The two remained quiet for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, before Sasuke spoke once again. "I'm thinking about moving."

Ino looked rather surprised at the news. "Moving? Really?"

"Yeah."

"But…" Ino bit her lower lip. "Where would you go?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Anywhere, as long as it's away from Konoha."

The blonde woman sighed and closed her eyes. "Please, Sasuke…" Under the table, Sasuke felt her manicured hand rest on his knee, and she opened her eyes. "You don't have to leave. It would hurt me so much if you weren't here."

Sasuke resisted the urge to grab hold of her hand under the table and instead stood up and looked down at Ino. He gave her a grim grin and started to walk away.

"Ino, it would hurt _me_ so much if I stayed here any longer."

* * *

Two years earlier, Sasuke had lost his virginity to Ino. It wasn't planned in the least bit; hell, they weren't even _dating _when they slept together for the first time. Somehow, though, Ino had managed to get Sasuke to come over to her house in the middle of a violent thunderstorm, and after talking dirty for several minutes had convinced him to take off his sopping wet clothes. That's when it started.

"_Sasuke,"_ Ino had said lustily while stripping off her own clothes and luring him to the bed. _"I know how to make you feel like you never have before."_

It was sheer curiosity that had him hooked. Like in a trance, he followed Ino to her bed, where she grabbed his hand and guided his fingers between her thighs. Oddly enough, Sasuke wasn't terribly nervous, but extremely anxious, anxious for this dirty, sexy woman to give him an experience that only she could give him.

"_Oh Sasuke!"_ The blonde woman had groaned erotically when his fingers were prodding around inside her. _"You aren't only a genius on the battlefield!"_

Sasuke had grinned, her suggestive compliment boosting his ego and making him think that he was some kind of sex god. The rest of the night had passed by in a cloud of sweat, scratching, screaming, and orgasm after orgasm after orgasm. The next morning, Sasuke had woken up, completely regretting what he had done the night before, and ran away from Ino's house, swearing never again to sleep with her.

Two weeks later he ended up back in her bedroom. Six months later he asked her to marry him.

* * *

The meeting earlier with Ino at the cafe that day had done nothing to relieve Sasuke of his pain. On the contrary, it made it worse. He wanted more than anything for her to show back up at his house with the ring back on her left hand, stating that it had all been some awful prank, some joke, some complete and utter bullshit, and that instead she truly wanted to be with him always. Oh, how he wanted to raise that unborn child with her and finally have a happy family; that would, at least, give off the impression that some good had come out of all their needless fucking.

The rain continued later on that evening as Sasuke sat on his couch, mindlessly flipping through the channels on a brand new plasma screen TV that Ino had begged him to purchase only three or four weeks before. She was always asking him to buy _something_: pairs of impossible-to-wear stilettos by some chic Italian designer whose name Sasuke could hardly pronounce; gaudy jewelry that would be worn once and then thrown carelessly into a dresser drawer because it was too painful to wear; make-up televised on infomercials that C+ actresses would endorse that apparently "made your skin glow" but looked like nothing more than dirt; cheap, plastic sex toys that broke only after one use; and many other items that someone couldn't possibly need less.

'At least I didn't cave in and buy her breast implants,' Sasuke thought, shaking his head as he turned off the television. 'As if big tits really matter.'

He set the remote on the arm of the couch and leaned back, sighing. As much as he hated her money-sucking habits…he was still crazy about Ino. The house was horribly empty and quiet without her loud voice and footsteps. He hadn't been this lonely since…hell, since they first started sleeping together.

'I guess I never realized how much of a hold she had on me…' Sasuke thought bitterly.

A loud ring emanated from the cordless phone to his right, breaking the painful silence. Sasuke hesitated, not wanting to answer it in case it was a certain ex-wife of his asking to deliver more of her clothes to her hotel room, but after two or three more rings he quickly picked it up.

"Yeah?" He answered wearily into the speaker.

"Hey man, what's going on?"

Sasuke sighed and grinned, glad that it has his buddy instead of Ino. "Yo, Shikamaru. What's up?"

Shortly after Sasuke had proposed to Ino, Shikamaru, though not quite the best of friends with him, offered some tips on how to deal with the rather rambunctious woman. Sasuke, not heeding Shikamaru's advice at the time, eventually saw that his tips were of great use and one day invited the laid-back guy out for a drink as a thank-you. During the drinking session Sasuke found that Shikamaru had to be one of the easiest guys to talk to and after a while they started to go out once a week, using the excuse that they needed a "man's night out". They had been good friends ever since.

"Not a lot," Shikamaru replied. "I hate to be a prick and bring it up, but-"

Sasuke sighed heavily and rubbed his temples with his free hand. "So you heard too, huh?"

Shikamaru gave out a low whistle on the other end. "You guys were only married for a year and a half! What the hell happened?"

The Uchiha felt a sharp pang in his chest at the question, and though he really didn't want to leave his friend in the dark, decided that he couldn't possibly answer the question without totally losing it. "It…it doesn't matter. It's over. That's it. Guess we weren't meant to be after all."

"Damn Sasuke…you're bumming me out, you troublesome asshole."

Sasuke chuckled quietly at Shikamaru's remark. "Sorry, I'll try and lighten up."

"Well, I got something in mind that might lift your spirits."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Shikamaru was still single, and that meant his idea of something that would "lift his spirits" was probably pervy and weird.

"What, you have a porno you wanna bring over or something?"

Shikamaru scoffed. "Nah man, I was thinking something more along the lines of…_live_ entertainment."

Sasuke frowned. "You mean the strip club?"

"I do indeed."

The Uchiha grimaced and crossed his legs. "Shikamaru, I hear the strippers in the _one_ strip club we have here in Konoha are disgusting."

"They're not that bad," Shikamaru replied, which made Sasuke wonder how many times he had been to the club. "And I heard they got this new chick there that's amazingly hot."

Sasuke scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I dunno if it's really my thing. And it seems too soon, ya know, to be checking out other women."

Shikamaru sighed heavily. "Dude, they're just strippers! They want bills, not commitment. And besides, it'll be good for you to get out, have some fun, and take your mind off of you-know-who."

Sasuke bit his lower lip and turned his head to look at the framed picture on the end table. It was of him and Ino on their wedding day. God, how beautiful she looked with her long platinum hair curled, her skin glowing against the pure white of her strapless wedding gown, her blue eyes sparkling. She was the woman who had made him into a man…

But she was also the woman who tore him apart.

"…Sasuke?" Shikamaru said after almost a minute of silence.

Sasuke shook his head. "Yeah, I'm here, sorry."

"So you wanna go?"

The other man glanced at the wedding picture once more before answering. "…Yeah, let's do it."

* * *

An hour later, the two men were sitting in the dark, shady building of _Bare_, the village's only strip club. The two had only been there for half an hour, and so far, Sasuke was thoroughly unimpressed. For one, he had been right: all of the strippers who had performed were not what you'd call attractive, what with their caked-on make-up, trashy outfits, and "too-big" breasts ('And they're pricey as hell too!' Sasuke thought. '4000 yen for a lap dance is fucking ridiculous!") The club itself was not the most aesthetically pleasing either. The lights were so dim that the "performers" were hardly visible, a fine cloud of cigarette smoke hung in the air, and the smell…Sasuke did _not_ want to know the cause of that awful smell.

Sasuke crinkled his nose as a red-headed stripper blew kisses to a group of howling men before sauntering off the stage. He leaned towards Shikamaru and said in a low voice, "Um…are these girls, ya know…_clean_?"

Shikamaru made a face as well. "You smell it too, huh?" He shrugged. "Maybe I should suggest to the manger that he get them tested."

Sasuke shivered slightly. "You said there was a hot chick here."

"There is." Shikamaru smiled goofily and pointed to the stage. "And I think that's her."

Sasuke's eyes widened and he quickly turned his attention back to the stage, where a tall, pale-skinned, violet-haired woman had just walked on wearing a black bra with matching boyshorts. Her back was facing them, but Sasuke could already tell that she was much more attractive than her coworkers.

"Wow," was all he managed to say.

"Let's hope she's not one of those girls who has a hot body but an ugly face."

Sasuke leaned back in his chair, not tearing his eyes away from the woman. "The view from here ain't too bad though," he said as he stared at her long legs and well-proportioned buttocks, feeling his mouth start to water.

The two men were dead silent as they watched the woman begin to dance exotically and tease the audience by fiddling with her top, but her back was still facing them. Sasuke leaned forward, his eyes wide and a familiar heat starting to flame up in his abdomen. He never thought he would find a woman who matched Ino in her beauty, but he had, and at one of the most unlikeliest places.

Shikamaru chuckled and elbowed him in the rib, knocking Sasuke out of his trance. "You seem to like her a lot. Go tip her."

Sasuke nodded silently and dug a 2000 yen bill from his pocket before standing up and walking over to the stage. For some reason, his heart was racing and his palms were sweating.

'Calm down,' he told himself before he stopped in front of the stage and gazed up longingly at the incredibly gorgeous woman. 'It's not like I'm in love with her or anything.'

Sasuke gulped and reached up to slip the bill into the woman's underwear before she turned around and faced him with a seductive smile on her face.

"Oh, th-thank you so much-"

The woman stopped talking abruptly as her eyes met with his, and a look of pure terror replaced her smile. In turn, Sasuke's jaw dropped and he slowly pulled his hand away, his heart beating even faster. This…this was impossible! There was no way this sexy stripper could be…

Sasuke finally found his voice and said hoarsely, "Hi-Hinata?"

The violet-haired woman covered her mouth and slowly backed away from him before sprinting off the stage and covering her nearly nude body, while the rest of the men in the room shouted and demanded that she come back. Sasuke stood stark still, completely shocked and the money still in his hand.

'I…I can't believe it…'

He wasn't sure why he did it, but after a moment Sasuke turned around and after managing to stumble his way past the irritated audience, ran out of the building, ignoring Shikamaru's shouts and the little voice in his head telling him "Don't follow her! Don't follow her!".

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**A/N: Heya folks! Cleone here **_**yet again**_** with **_**yet another**_** fic! Sorry, I just was really eager to post this one (hangs head in shame).**

**If you didn't get the whole "why-the-strip-club-smelled-bad" thing…apparently, if you have an STD, your nether-regions smell nasty-ass. . Haha!**


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